For 90 minutes, farmers, landowners, lifelong hunters and conservation officials wrestled with a question that has divided South Carolina's hunting community for years: How do you preserve a centuries-old tradition while protecting private property rights?
The answer, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officials repeatedly stressed, is not one they were there to determine.
Instead, the agency's public meetings – the second of three held July 27 at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College – are designed to gather perspectives on hunting deer with dogs before reporting those findings to the SCDNR Board and, if requested, the South Carolina General Assembly. There is no pending legislation, and SCDNR is not proposing changes to existing laws.
"This is all information gathering," Big Game Coordinator Lee Kennamer told the audience. "We want to try to find some way to generate some solutions, not just say, 'I don't like it' or 'I like it.'"
Throughout the evening, speakers largely agreed on one point: irresponsible hunters create problems. Where they differed was whether those problems justify stronger laws or better enforcement of those already on the books.
Clarendon County was well represented, with speakers offering perspectives shaped by farming, hunting and property management. Agricultural concerns surfaced repeatedly, with farmers describing crop losses caused by growing deer populations and arguing that organized dog hunts play an important role in managing herd numbers while protecting corn, soybeans, cotton and other crops.
Jason Frierson, vice president of Sammy Swamp Hunting Club and owner of Frierson Farms in Paxville, said responsible clubs have demonstrated that dog hunting can coexist with neighboring landowners.
"We've been a dog hunting club since 1988," Frierson said. "We've had very, very few incidents with game wardens through all the years ... it can be done the right way." He also noted that dog hunting supports rural businesses, from feed and sporting goods to local restaurants and land leases, adding that about one-third of his store's revenue comes from serving the hunting community.
Matt Chapman, a Home Branch farmer, county council candidate and board member of the South Carolina Sporting Dog Association, said hunters must take greater responsibility for policing their own ranks.
"With the spotlight on us and everything, we need to make sure that we keep an eye on each other, making sure that everybody's doing what's supposed to," Chapman said. "I think if we let clubs police themselves and DNR enforce the laws that are on the book, ... we don't need any more dog laws."
Chapman also suggested sporting dog organizations could serve as intermediaries between SCDNR and hunting clubs when conflicts arise before enforcement becomes necessary.
Leroy Thompson, president of Bobcat Hunting Club in Clarendon County, acknowledged that GPS tracking collars have improved hunters' ability to monitor dogs but said technology has limits.
"If it's a road there, a dog that's trained, when you hit that tone button, he can hit that road and he go into a truck," Thompson said. "But ... some of them dogs gonna get past that line because it ain't no truck there."
Calvin Porter, who said he manages 3,000 acres surrounded by dog hunting clubs, argued that organized dog drives have proven effective at reducing deer damage on one property where still hunters had limited success.
"The dog hunters are getting a bad rap," Porter said.
He described managing property for a landowner whose botanical garden was repeatedly damaged by deer. While still hunters harvested only a handful of deer each year, he said organized dog hunts removed dozens, helping protect the property. "She still lets the dog hunters do it because she knows that's the only way she can keep everything on her place."
Not everyone agreed that existing laws are enough.
Several landowners said the issue is not dog hunting itself but repeated trespassing by hunters who release dogs on tracts too small to contain them.
Jodi Howard, president of the Property Protection Alliance of South Carolina, said his organization is not seeking a ban.
"We're not here to ban dog hunting," Howard said. "We have problems with the dogs crossing the property lines ... [then] we can't hunt in peace." He called for stronger laws and enforcement aimed at repeat offenders rather than responsible clubs.
Chris Scott of Clarendon County echoed that sentiment, saying hunters know where property lines are even if dogs do not.
"Hunt masters can. They know where the property lines are, and they're responsible to control their dogs," Scott said. "The responsibility should stay with the hunter."
Following the meeting, Cheyenne Twilley, chief of SCDNR's Office of Education, Outreach and Information, emphasized that the agency's role is limited to gathering information.
"We're here to listen," Twilley said. "We're not here to propose any changes. We're not advocating for a particular decision to be made one way or the other."
She said the agency will complete the public meetings, conduct focus groups and analyze responses from an online survey before presenting findings.
"We don't change the law," Twilley said. "The South Carolina General Assembly must change that law."
Twilley said the final report will be presented during a public SCDNR Board meeting after the agency completes its public engagement process, though she said no timetable has been established.
The SCDNR Board is scheduled to meet Aug. 6 in West Columbia, but the published agenda does not include discussion or action on deer hunting with dogs, reflecting the agency's position that the public input process is still underway.
